Rural Marketing, 2e

Chapter 3
Rural Consumer Behaviour

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 Learning Objectives

• Describe the customer buying behaviour model in rural

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India in terms of cultural, social, personal and psychological
factors

• List and define the major types of buying decision

behaviour and the stages in the buyer decision process

• Describe the adoption and diffusion process for new

products

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour

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Personal
Age and life
Social cycle stage Psychological
Cultural Reference Occupation Motivation
Culture groups Economic Perception
Sub-culture Family situation Learning
Social Class Roles and Lifestyle Beliefs and
status Personality Attitudes
and self
concept

WHY RURAL CONSUMERS BUY? THE CHANGES INFLUENCING CONSUMER

BEHAVIOUR

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Cultural Factors

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Culture

●
Customs (socially accepted norms) and traditions (long standing
beliefs) more prevalent in rural

Sub-culture

●
Caste system plays a major role in community thinking and
dwelling in rural

Social class

●
Socio-Economic Classification

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Socio-Economic Classification

Based on the education level

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of the chief wage earner and
the type of dwelling
• R1 prefer to make bulk
purchases from nearby
town markets; R2 and R3
buy from Haats

SEC Breakup in Rural

• Classification being
changed due to strong
shift towards pucca houses

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Social Factors

Reference Informational – Trial of products

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●

used by others
Groups ●
Normative – the need to belong

Traditional joint family giving way to

●
●

Family individualized joint families with separate

kitchens in the same house with bonding on
social occasions

Roles and Caste a major factor

●
●

●Increasing empowerment of women in the

●

Status
decision process
●Progressive farmers gaining in status
●

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Reference Groups
• Anganwadi workers: Grassroots agents working on child
development programmes with focus on nutrition, education

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and health

• Auxiliary nurse/midwife: For pre-natal, childbirth and post

natal check-ups

• Self-help groups: To access low-cost finance

• Agri-cooperative societies: To provide funds for agricultural

purposes through NABARD

• NGOs: Belong to local community and hence sensitive to

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Opinion Leaders

• Traditionally with the gram pradhan or sarpanch

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• With growing education, teachers became strong influencers
especially amongst children

• Rural youth have become the strongest influencers due to

education, mobility and access to information

• Head of the family continues to be the decision maker

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Sociability

• Rural people spend more time with family and friends, these

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constitute reference points for daily lives

• Male members assemble at the choupal

• Women gossip with other women while completing their

daily chores at common places

• A rural neighbour is an extension of the family

• Every new purchase is discussed with the neighbourhood

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Personal Factors

Age and stages of the lifecycle

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AGE Lifestyle stage Products/Services consumed

Below 12 Childhood Toys, local snacks, sweets and chocolates

13 to 19 Teenage Mobiles, television, cinema

Motorcycle, LPG, readymade clothes, local

20 to 40 Youth
liquor, haat

Tractor, playing cards, kisan credit cards,

41 to 60 Middle age
postal savings, mela

Choupal, pilgrimage, hukka, social and

Above 60 Old
political function

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Personal Factors (Contd.)

Occupati

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●
●People with identical incomes may
opt for different items based on
on and occupation
●Variations in income pre-harvest and
●

income post-harvest

●
Dependent on weather for
Economic farmers
situation Savings in banks and post
●

offices

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Personal Factors (Contd.)
Lifestyles

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Products and Status Symbol

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Personal Factors (Contd.)

Personality and Self-concept

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• Different personality for rural youth in social gatherings and
while travelling

• Different brand ambassadors in urban and rural

• Ideal role ambassadors in rural are those who are natural

and homely
Amitabh Bachan for conventional and self confidence
Mahinder Singh Dhoni for jovial, youthful and cool
Juhi Chawla for beauty and homely

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Psychological Factors

Motivation
• Content to satisfy basic needs relevant to his environment

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• Slow in accepting new products

• Not driven by “status symbols” with neighbours

Perception
• Quality and value of products associated with improvement they bring to
consumer lives

• Familiar and known sources like retailers strong spokespersons for low
involvement products

• Learning through interplay of drive, stimulus, cues, responses and

reinforcements

• Beliefs and attitudes

Rural Marketing, 2e
 The Buyer Decision Process

Need Recognition

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Information Search

Evaluation of Alternatives

Purchase decision

Post-purchase behaviour

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Information Search
• Primarily from personal sources depending less on
commercial sources

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• Also depends on experiential sources. Exhibitions and
trade shows help.

• Haats, mandis and melas facilitate informal consumer

interactions.

• In case of “high involvement” products visit to a company

outlet is essential.

Marketers should induce product trials and reach rural

• Marketing, 2e
Rural
 Evaluation of Alternatives

• Depends on kind of product and the buying situation

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• Major attributes are price and quality

• Shortest cycle is for convenience goods and highest for

tractors/products new to the rural environment

• Consumer durables fall in between

• Marketers need to understand the product-specific

evaluation process
Rural Marketing, 2e
 The Purchase Decision

• Final choice guided by perceived risks as well as the opinion

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leaders, family and friends

• Paucity of information increases the perceived risk

• Collective decision for high ticket items

• Decision makers are now educated, aware of new

technologies and receptive to new concepts and ideas

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Post Purchase Behaviour

• Dissatisfaction leads to return of product and negative

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publicity about the company and the product

• A satisfied customer leads to brand equity and “word of

mouth” publicity

• See “Rural Marketing Insight: Aircel”

Rural Marketing, 2e
 The Product Adoption Process

Product Awareness • Opinion leaders play an

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important part

Product Interest
• Rural consumers slower in
trying new brands
Product Evaluation
• Stay with brands longer.

Product Trial
• Trial generation is therefore
more important than
Product Adoption generating brand loyalty

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Diffusion of Innovation

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Type of
Profile Behaviour
Consumer
Opinion leaders and trend setters, high Explorers, first to adopt, lead by
Innovator
risk takers and high asset ownership example
Rich farmer with large and medium
High on experimentation, willing
Early Adopter holdings, high social status, conscious
to try new products
evaluator
Medium landholding farmers, take
Less open on experimentation,
Early Majority cautious risks, opportunity seekers,
adopts before average person
middle path takers
Small and medium farmers, more
Low on experimentation, adopts
Late Majority knowledge receivers than seekers, less
only time tested technology
efficient with moderate resources
Marginal farmers and labourers, risk Averse to trying new things,
Laggard
averse, conservative and traditional suspicious of change

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Rural Marketing Case
HPCL Rasoi Ghar
1.What challenges did HPCL face in getting rural women to
adopt LPG? How were these challenges overcome?

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2.What went wrong with the 50Kg. cylinder? Which new
approach was evolved? How were the issues of acceptability
and affordability addressed?

3.What were the key success factors that brought about the
desired behaviour change? How did HPCL benefit from the
model?

4.To which other categories can this model be applied? How?

Rural Marketing, 2e
 Successful Mantra in Rural
Consumer Behavior

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• Observe

• Analyse

Rural Marketing, 2e